The Longing for Freedom
by GoldenDiscord
Summary: Merida and Repunzel are two completely different girls. But they share one thing. The longing to be free. Meripunzel
1. Prolouge

Where Merida from marriage is not about love. It's about greed and people wanting more land or power. That's how She always saw it, at least. Besides she never wanted to get married. So when her parents told her she had to get married she ran. I packed up some food, her bow and arrows, and saddled up Angus. They ran and never looked back. It was an action some called stupid. An arrogant idea made only for attention. But it was more then that. Merida wanted her story to end differently. She wanted to be free.

Repunzel had had a nice, cozy life. Granted it was the most boring life one could lead, it was safe. Mother Gothel was always telling stories of how everyone tried to use her magic hair for wicked things. She should be glad to be in that tower instead if in the care of some evil person. But she wasn't. She wanted a new life. She wanted to find love and adventure. She wouldn't spend her whole life rotting away in that tower. So one day, after Mother Gothel had left, Repunzel packed up her things. She packed some fruits, some paints and a brush, her hair brush, and extra clothes. She lowered herself down with her hair as she had done countless times with her mother. The workd looked so much better up close. She rolled in the grass, smelled each and every flower, splashed in the water. It was clear she never wanted to leave this wonderland. The clarity was shattered when she heard pounding on the ground. It was...footsteps. Very loud, hard footsteps. Footsteps of people who would sell her and her hair. She ran as quickly as she could back to the tower. She tried throwing her hair up into the window but it would always fall. Repunzel gathered up her hair and ran behind the tower, glancing out everyone once in a while.

"Alright, Angus, that should be enough for today." Merida told her horse. Once Angus had stopped she quickly dismounted. It was getting dark and she needed somewhere to rest. She was exhausted from riding all day. She leaned up against a wall of vines. But it wasn't a wall so she fell straight o her back. She cursed and stood up. As she turned she was struck with awe. It was the most beautiful landscape she'd ever encountered. She saw a crystal clear waterfall and ran to it. No use in getting dehydrated.

Repunzel looked out from behind the tower. she had never seen anyone else besides her mother. She houldnt have been so surprised by theis girls appearance. But her hair was like fire. Red and bouncing. In all Mother Gotgels stories it was always men who tried to steal her hair. Woman must have been okay. Repunzel wasnt that naive She would take precautions. But ig she wanted a new life she would have to meet new people. This girl seemed like a good place to start.

"Hi." Repunzel muttered as she shows herself. Merida jumped at her voice. She snapped her head in the direction of the voice. Merida was almost certain she was seeing things when she saw the length of this girls hair. She must have had heat stroke or something like that and was now hallucinating. Both girls were startled yet excited at the others appearance.

Repunzel kept staring at the strange girl. Even though she wasn't strange. She was beautiful. She tried pushing those thoughts from her head. That wasn't normal, was it?

**there ya go! And that was the prologue! Reviews inspire me to write more. **


	2. Chapter 1

The two girls stood their for a moment, taking in each others presence. Merida couldn't take her eyes off of the girls hair. It must have been 60 feet long. She didn't even know that was possible. The hair was surprisingly in good condition. It was well brushed and shiny. Merdia wondered if it was soft to touch.

Repunzel couldn't contain her excitement. Her first new person! Repunzel noticed the girl wasn't looking at her, she was looking at her hair. She was probably going to have to explain everything. But she couldn't. She had already taken such a big, dangerous step. SHe wasn't sure if she wanted to take another. SO she just laughed it off. "Don't mind the hair." She giggled.

"Is it real?" Merida questioned skeptically.

"Yep. Yeppers. Real as hair can be." Repunzel answered, "See, feel it." She through her hair over to Merida. At first Merida wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with the hair. But she picked it up and held it. And it was soft. Like a pussycat. Merida couldn't help but notice how weird this was. She was holding the hair of a random girl she didn't even know the name of that she had met in the forest. She dropped the blonde hair. Repunzel let it sit there in the grass.

"Anyway, let me introduce myself. I am Repunzel." She said cheerfully. She curtsied, like the woman did in all the books she read. Merida nodded and introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you, Murida." Repunzel responded. Merida cringed at the mispronunciation.

"It's MErida. Like a female horse." She responded kindly.

"Oooh. Sorry about that." Repunzel apologized. "So anyway, what brings you to my tower?"

Merida bit her lip. "I was running away from home." She answered.

Repunzel gasped. "No way! So am I! Except I haven't gotten very far. Thats my home right there" she said gesturing to the tower.

"You live in a tower?" Merida asked. The entrance was cover in vines. How did she go in and out?

"Sure do. Well, did. I don't know where I'm going now." Repunzel said.

Merida felt as if she had to invite Repunzel to join her. What good would it do to have a girl like her wandering around, cluelessly. Besides she seemed nice. Very chatty. Merida could get used to that. Or at least she would try.

"You know, I, uh" Merida couldn't believe she was doing this, "Im headed for a nearby kingdom. I could take you there." Yes, take her there. They didn't have to make some huge elaborate life together. They were just two travelers wanting to start new. Besides, though she loved Angus he couldn't talk to her. And she always enjoyed having someone to talk to who could actually respond.

Repunzel thought about Merida's offer. Her first thought was _what would mother say about this? _She quickly tried to brush those thoughts away. It didn't matter what her mother said. She was her own, independent woman. She could do whatever she pleased. Still, going somewhere unknown with someone she had just met didn't seem like smart idea. But for some reason, Repunzel trusted this girl. She didn't look like she would hurt her or use her hair for a profit. Something told her that this would be fun. Why wouldn't it be?

"Sure! That sounds like a great idea." Repunzel smiled. Merida let out a sigh of relief she didn't realize she was holding in. She was silently glad that she had accepted.

"So when are we gonna leave?" Repunzel asked curiously.

"Oh, actually I'm done for the day. It's getting dark and Angus and I need our rest." Merida answered.

Repunzel cocked her head. "Angus?" She asked.

"Oh, Angus is my horse. Had him since I was wee little girl." Merida explained.

Repunzel gasped. She had always loved horses. Granted she'd never actually seen one. But she loved everything she had read about them. "A horse? Where is he?" She asked excitedly.

"Uh," Merida looked around dumbly. In all the excitement of meeting this girl she had forgotten about Angus. She had left him on the other side of the wall of vines. Merida stuck her head out of the vines to see if Angus was there. And he was. He was pleasantly grazing on the grass. Repunzel gasped when she saw it. She never would have guessed that a horse would look like _that. _but she liked how it looked.

"Oh my goodness! This is just the cutest thing I've ever seen! It's soooooo fluffy!" Repunzel squealed. Merida laughed. She had never seen anyone get so excited over seeing an animal.

"You act as if you've never seen a horse before." Merida says.

"That because I never have seen a horse before. This is this first time I've ever been outside." Repunzel responded like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Merida stood there, amazed. She had never been outside? No wonder she was so pale!

"Can I pet him?" Repunzel asked hesitantly.

"Of course ya can." Merida answered.

"Yay!" Repunzel was acting like a 5 year old. Merida thought it was cute. She stopped herself. Cute wasn't the right word. Interesting? Different? No other word fit. She tried putting it off her mind.

Repunzel was talking to Angus as if he was a person. Merida thought she was the only one who did that.

"So how are we gonna get to the kingdom?" Repunzel asked as she stroked the horse.

"By horseback, of course." Merida answered patiently.

"Do you have another horse?" Repunzel asked dumbly.

"Nope. Just Angus." Merida didn't see why this was perplexing the blonde so much.

"But there are two of us, and one horse.." Repunzel pointed out.

"Oh." Merida finally found her logic. "We can both ride Angus." she answered.

Repunzel was pulsing with excitement. She'd get to ride a horse! She knew this was a good idea. "I'm excited! Ya know I've never ridden a horse before." She said.

Merida bit her lip. That would slow her down. She had a tendency of going fast and she couldn't if Repunzel was still getting over her first-time-on-a-horse anxieties.

"Why don't I teach ya how to ride?" She suggested. Repunzel wouldn't be driving the horse tomorrow, obviously. Maybe sometime in the future she could.

"Sure!" Repunzel agreed.

"Alright. Let me give a leg up." Merida offered.

Merida got on her knee and Repunzel awkwardly made her way over to the redhead. Repunzel stood there dumbly looking at Merida, confused. This was going to be harder then Merida thought. Merida grabbed Angus' bridle and led him over to a tree stump.

"Here, now stand on the stump." Merida said. Repunzel obeyed.

"Okay. What now?" She asked. Merida knew she was going to have to help the girl mount.

She stood behind Repunzel and placed her hands on the blondes hips. Repunzel gasped. She had never really been touched before. It left a tingly feeling where Meridas hands rested.

"Ya ready?" Merida asked.

"Ready for what?" Repunzel asked confusedly.

"To get on the horse." Merida answered.

"Oh, um sure." Repunzel answered.

"When I say three, jump on the horse." Merida said. Repunzel wasn't sure how she'd ever make it on to the horses back. But she would try. "One, two, three."

Merida lifted Repunzel off the ground and Repunzel, who was just about to jump, stopped. She didn't know what this girl was doing.

"Was I supposed to jump then?" she asked.

Merida nodded. The two laughed. This was going to be harder then Merida thought. Bjt that was okay. Something inside her told her that this would be worth it.

**There you go! I hope you liked it. Thank you kindly for the favorites/following/reviews. Reviews are inspiring. **


	3. Chapter 2

Repunzel wanted to leave that night. She didn't want to risk her mother coming back and seeing her out of the tower. That could never end well. Merida knew Angus was tired from the long ride earlier that day. She herself was tired. But Repunzel only wanted to go a short distance away. Merida decided that a little bit further wouldn't hurt. Or at least she hoped.

So Merida tightened Angus' saddle and helped Repunzel and herself onto the horses back.

"You ready?" Merida asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Repunzel laughed.

"Might wanna hold on. We go fast." Merida warned.

"Please, I gotz it." Repunzel assured her companion.

Merida shook her head. Merida squeezed the horses sides and he took off galloping. Repunzel squealed at the quick, sudden movement. She instinctually threw her arms around Merida. The redhead tensed. No one besides her family had ever touched her before. Merida felt a shiver of electricity run through her. She kind of liked it. She silently wanted Repunzel to cling to her like that forever. Of course she'd never admit this to anyone. It was hard to admit it even to herself. She convinced herself it was because she was becoming friends with this girl. Yea, that's it. And friends don't mind it when friends do nth is sort of thing, right? She didn't have much experience with friends. Her parents didn't let her out of the castle grounds except for on special occasions. She wasn't very fond of the people in the palace. They were all annoying, stuck up brats. Or insecure servant who questioned everything they did.

Merida stopped Angus when they came across a hotel. There wasn't much room left in the inn. Only small rooms with one bed. Merida decided it was better then nothing, and paid for the room. Merida told Repunzel, if it made her more comfortable she'd be willing to sleep on the floor. But Repunzel brushed away the offer.

"If you want to sleep on the floor you shouldn't have stopped at a hotel. The bed's big enough, we can share it." She said.

The bed was big. Big and soft. Repunzel loved how she could just sink into he mattress. But despite the large size of the bed, the two girls were laying down as far away from each other as possible. Neither of them had ever shared a bed. Repunzel kind of liked being that close with someone. But she didn't say that. She was worried that might freak Merida out.

The next day, Merida woke up with the sun shining bright into her eyes. She groaned and rolled over only to find out her back was stiff. Great. When she opened her eyes she saw Repunzel sitting on a chair, brushing her hair. She was 3/4's of the way done.

"Hi." Repunzel greeted when she noticed Merida looking at her.

Merida, to tired to speak, made some sort of speaking noise. Repunzel giggled. She thought that was cute.

"So..um...how did you sleep?" Repunzel asked awkwardly trying to start a conversation.

Merida shrugged. "Eh, alright, i guess." She answered.

"that's good! I think that they serve breakfast here." Repunzel said.

"Breakfast is good." Merida muttered tiredly.

"Well once your more awake we can go dowm and get some." Repunzel suggested.

"Oh, you dont have to wait for me." Merida offers.

"But I want to! There might be people down there who want to steal my hair-" Repunzel stopped herself before she gave away to much.

Medida looked up at the blonde, confused. "Why would anyone want to sell your hair?"

"No reason." Repunzel said nervously. "Besides, I'm not done brushing my hair so I can't go anywhere." She said trying to steer the conversation away from her hair.

Merida shrugged. She knew Repunzel was hiding something from her. But at 5 o'clock in the morning she didn't really care what it was.

Repunzel finished brushing her hair about 10 minutes later. By then, Merida was fully awake.

"Alright, let's go get some breakfast." Merida offered.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The blonde asked.

"Um, not that I know of?" Merida answered.

"You didn't brush your hair yet, silly." Repunzel answered.

"I can do it later." Merida shrugged.

"No you can't! You need to make your hair nice and pretty." Repunzel said.

"Sorry but my hair ain't the pretty type. It just does what it wants." Merida explained as she ran a finger through it.

"Not if you learn to control it." Repunzel said. "Now it's either you brush your hair or I'll brush it for you."

Merida sighed and laughed. "Alright I give up. But I don't think I brought a hairbrush."

"that's okay, you can use mine." Repunzel suggested.

Merida bit her lip. She had hlped saying she didn't bring a hair brush would make Repunzel let her off the hook. But she hadn't been so lucky. Brushing her hair was never a fun experience. Her hair was always matted and tangled and utterly painful to brush through.

Merida took the brush from Repunzel and just combed over it. She brushed each section once and handed the brush back to it's owner. Repunzel looked up at the red head strangely.

"That wasn't brushing." the blonde sighed. "Sit down. I'll brush it for you."

"Oh no, you don't have to." Merida said worriedly. Sometimes her mother would brush her hair and she would yank it and pull it so hard. When she ran away she never thought she'd have to endure that again.

"Yes I do. Don't worry, I won't make it hurt." Repunzel promised.

Merida didn't know why but she felt this unexplained trust of Repunzel. The trust made her sit down and have her hair done.

Repunzel tried her hardest to make it less painful. Pain was inevitable with Meridas hair, though. But she somehow managed to get through brushing it without Merida crying or screaming in agony. That didn't surprise Repunzel, though. Merida was tough.

"Okay, I'm done!" Repunzel announced.

"Great. Can we go to breakfast now?" Merida asked.

"Nope, not until you look at yourself in a mirror." Repunzel answered.

Merida sighed but she followed Repunzel to a mirror that hung on the wall.

"There!" Repunzel said. Merida looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like herself with calmer hair. She didn't see the big deal. Repunzel on the other hand gasped at what she saw. For the first time she saw Meridas face clearly. And she was...beautiful. Like, really. Like more beautiful than anything ever. Repunzel felt her heart pounding faster then usual. Like she was nervous. But that Was crazy. What did she have to be nervous about?

"Well, um. Let's go get breakfast now." Repunzel said nervously.

"Finally! I thought you'd never let me outta this room." Merida laughed.

As they walked down to the breakfast room, Repunzel tried to erase the event from her memory. But it wouldn't go away. It demanded to be known. And Repunzel wasn't sure she wanted to know why.


	4. Chapter 3

**hello everyone! I am so sorry for how long I took to update this. I had a bit of writers block. But thanks to Pupppetmaster24, I had inspiration and am now writing this next chapter. I hope you like it. **

The sun was very hot the next day. It was ironic because it was is hot that Merida felt her hair might catch on fire. It was so thick and curly it attracted just about everything that was the slightest bit interested in messing it up. Because it was so hot Angus got tired easily so they had to stop more then Merida liked to. Eventually Repenzul told Merida she was getting hungry and they should stop somewhere for lunch. But the were in the middle of no where so they didn't come across to many rest stops. But they did finally stumble upon "the Snuggly Duckling".

They stopped there and Merida tied Angus' reigns to the post outside the building. Repunzel opened the door and gasped at what she saw. The Snuggly Duckling was a misleading name. Everywhere she looked there were big, scary looking men who looked as if they might kill her. It reminded her of Mother Gothels stories. She wasn't all that hungry any more.

For whatever reason Merida became excited when she saw the inside of the snuggly duckling. It was no where near the prim places she would go to with her mother back in Scotland. This placed seemed so real. So exciting. Merida liked it.

Merida jumped when she felt something grab her arm. But she calmed down as she realized it was just Repunzel, timidly holding onto her arm, Merida assumed it was because she was terrified of this place. Merida did calm down but not very much. It felt like the girl was leaving fire where she touched on Meridas arm. She noticed her heart speed up but tried not to notice it.

The good thing was no one really noticed the two girls. Everyones focus was toward the back of the room. Merida, feeling curious, decided to go see what everyone was looking at or doing.

She found in the corner of the room a large group of men were gathered around a single guy. They were taunting him and poking him with pointy objects, not trying to kill him, though. The man was trying to escape the others but he was by far out numbered.

Merida want sure what to make of this matter. It wasn't her business so she coild have very well walked away, gotten something to eat and left. But Repunzel had other plans.

"Hey, stop that!" Repunzel shouted.

Everything stopped. Everyones attention was directed towards the two young woman. Merida noticed they were the only females in the entire place. Merida bit her lip. She knew this wouldn't end well. They could get kidnapped. They could get raped. There were a lot of awful things that could happen.

A heavyweight bald man began to walk towards the blonde girl, ever so slowly.

"What did you say?" He asked.

Repunzel stood up taller and replied, "I said leave him alone."

She felt so brave! This was both very exciting and very terrifying. But she liked it that way.

Merida thought Repunzel was just looking for a way to get herself killed. She couldn't blame her. This was her first time in the real world. But Merida didn't see that as a good reason **for** both of them to end up dead.

"I'm so sorry for that. She's new the everything and doesn't really know what she's doing. Never mind us." Merida apologized.

Everyone looked at her strangely.

"Merida, what are you doing?" Repunzel whispered.

"I'm saving both our lives." The red headed girl replied.

But the bald man wasn't too pleased with this apology.

"What makes you think you can come in here and tell me what to do?" He asked Repunzel. He was getting mad now.

Repunzel had to think about this. She tried to come up with a good answer but she just said, "Because it's not right to go around harassing innocence people."

Everyone in the place laughed.

"Rider ain't innocent. Bout the most wanted man in the kingdom." the bald man says.

Repunzel had to think quick but luckily she was good at that.

"Don't think of yourself as too innocent. Im sure you aren't on the laws good side as well." Repunzel said.

Merida said a quick prayer. That was it. They were gonna die. They'd be killed. No questions asked.

**there ya go! Kinda short but better then nothing. Please review, they inspire me! **


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